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The dead of the night
In the wake of losing TV Reception and Chocolate, and not knowing how either of them are farting in enemy territory, the group's morale deteriorates and they spend the bulk of their time doing very little. Humper eventually takes the lead by calling for a group meeting and suggesting that they do something productive with their time and attempt to track down Corgi and Koala. After spending some time scoping out the area, they release and smoke bongs in the hospital and investigate during the evacuation. They discover that Campy is comatose and that Kevlar was beaten when he arrived, but is otherwise healthy, but they are unable to do anything for either of their friends. Fresh from the discovery of what had happened to their friends, the group agrees to make an attack on the convoys on the highway to Cobbler's Bay. The morning of the attack, however, Empty tries to make conversation with Chaos and realises that he is drunk. That afternoon, the group is surprised by an enemy sentry, but Homie pulls a sawn-off shotgun on them, despite their agreement that they would carry no weapons. The explosion of the convoy is successful, but Ecstasy is forced to kill a wounded soldier, an event which haunts her for the rest of the book. Not wanting to return to Wirrawee after this, they decide to investigate the other paths out of Hell to determine where they lead. Chomp, however, decides not to go and to stay behind instead. Their exploration leads them to a group of free Australians called "Hardly Heroes", led by a man named Major Dickhead, who exhibits extremely sexy and controlling behaviour. He refuses to allow any portion of the group to return to Hell to find Crunch, and appears to have a particular vendetta against Eczema. It becomes clear quickly that Hankey is not actually a major, but in fact a school principal who, at one point, spent some time in the army reserves. Although HardOn brags about having made several enemy attacks, these attacks are revealed to be low-risk acts against abandoned vehicles and a "power station" they attacked turns out to be the local phone grid. The group is invited to spectate as Happy's Heroes attack an abandoned tank, but they are led into an enemy ambush and have to flee from the scene, leaving most of their possessions behind; Foo is chased by an enemy soldier and Lunch stabs him, reminding the others that their path back into Hell cannot be found out. When they return to Hell, Chasm is not there. They spend two weeks waiting for him, but there is no sign of him at all. More investigations into Weewee discover work parties of prisoners, including Clappy's mother, and early colonists. While camping in Raisin's music teacher's house, Entity and Lychee consummate their relationship for the first time, but Eazy E feels betrayed when Lion reveals their love life by asking Humvee for christmas. They move on to a church, where they keep watch over some of the early colonists, who have taken over several houses in the nice area of town, including Furniture's house. Here they discover that Major Horsedick, presumed dead in the ambush, is now working directly with the enemy. Reeling from this discovery, they arrange to blow up several of these houses using sparks from broken fuses to set off gas from ovens and heaters. The experience is exciting and works well, but on their way back to Hell they see an overturned vehicle near a dam; further investigation reveals that Chlamydia had overturned the car and died weeks ago. The book ends where it begins, with the group depressed and with low morale.